Do you do Zoom or Britesmile in your office?

Several well publicized whitening systems (Zoom2, Britesmile, etc.) supplement one hour of professionally applied, high strength whitening gel with high powered visible or UV light lamps. 

First off, Discus Dental owns and markets the Zoom, Zoom2, Zoom Advanced and Britesmile brands.  Dr. Le regularly purchases some Discus Dental products (tongue cleaners, mouthwash, toothpaste, and overnight bleach) but has no financial relationship with it or any competitor.  These products can and do produce excellent whitening results.  Several of our colleagues and friends use the Zoom2 system with success.  Our problem with Zoom2 and its ilk are the exaggerated efficacy of the bleaching lights. 

The claim is that the UV and/or blue light catalyzes the oxidation reaction.  Bleaching lights don't really work: In several incidences, if you bleach on both sides of the mouth, tin foil on one side, illuminate the other side, and then leave it for an hour, both sides come out the same!  The foil covered side is exactly the same color as the illuminated side.  In fact, the bright lights may harm teeth by heating up the pulp to unhealthy temperatures, and UV light in high doses is a known carcinogen.  Who pays for these expensive lights?  You, the consumer...in the form of inflated fees.

CRAnews, the Consumer Reports of dentistry, has published a study showing that even with our highest power resin curing lights (far stronger than the whole mouth bleaching lights), there is no significant increase in the breakdown of peroxide.  (Warning: it's a fairly technical article). 

Take the tinfoil challenge: I dare anyone to go to one of these Zoom dentists and ask that the gel be placed as usual, but that half of your mouth be covered with aluminum foil to block out the light.  Numerous dentists and journals have tried this, and the results are always the same: the light-covered area is just as white as the light-exposed area.  We will not participate in this mass deception of the public no matter how commercially profitable it is.  It's all in the gel.  Just say no to bleaching lights. 

Why would a dentist, knowing all this, still perform light assisted whitening?  Because the dental materials companies have spent millions in direct-to-consumer advertising and prime time television product placement.  Fact: Zoom2 brings in new patients.  From a business perspective, it's hard to turn down $200, $300 or as high as $600 for an hour of work.  People call our office demanding BriteSmile and Zoom2, and hang up promptly if these specific systems aren't offered.  Don't believe the hype--if there is a less expensive, safer, longer lasting alternative, why wouldn't you use it?  Good results don't require a bleaching light.

Because we value your health, your safety and our integrity over our sales figures, we neither recommend nor offer light "activated" bleaching.

What brand of bleaching gel do you use?

No matter which peroxide system you use, the results will eventually come if you consistently follow the manufacturer's directions.  We are currently using a water based hydrogen peroxide gel, because it produces decent results with very low reported sensitivity when patients follow our directions.  The theory is that water based gels will produce less sensitivity, because they don't dessicate (dry out) your teeth.  Your results may vary, but people who couldn't tolerate the low strength of over-the-counter products have been able to use this product.